Ph.D Physical Education

The role of active lifestyle in health and national development is universally recognised. Physical inactivity is implicated in hypokinetic conditions such as obesity as well as cardiovascular diseases. Physical activity through sports has also become a major development issue not only in wealth creation but also in peaceful coexistence. The extent to which the full benefits of active living through physical activity are achieved depends on the creation of appropriate knowledge to serve as a basis for developing strategies and systems to engage people in appropriate physical activities. This requires a corps of personnel with high level expertise in knowledge creation and management. The development of such high level personnel is the purpose of this proposed doctorate programme in Physical Education, the first of its kind in Ghana.

Since its inception in 1986, the Department of HPER has turned out several cohorts of bachelor’s degree holders in Physical Education. A master of philosophy in Physical Education was started in 1993 and several graduates have been turned out who currently serve in various capacities in and outside the country. The M.Phil programme was reviewed in 2005, providing opportunity for concentration in four emphasis areas.

Meanwhile, the greatest challenge of the Department has been the difficulty in attracting teaching staff. The current policy to set the minimum requirement for teaching positions in the university to doctorate degree, though long overdue, has come to compound the staffing problem as there is no department or institution in Ghana running doctorate degrees relevant to our staffing needs.

GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

Goal

To produce academicians and technocrats in Physical Education and Sports to assume teaching, research and management positions in academic institutions and other organisations.

Objectives

The objectives are to:

Apply knowledge on the role of physical activity in health and development.

Conduct research in Physical Education, sports science and sports management.

Design, implement, and evaluate sports programmes in school and community settings.

Level 900

This course examines the philosophical (axiological, ontological, epistemological and aesthetic) bases of research. Approaches, methodologies and designs to research resulting from the different philosophical thoughts are examined in relation to various disciplines. Students are expected to design research projects and justify the philosophical underpinnings of the proposed methodologies.

In this course students will learn about the cardiovascular system and its components; blood pressure response to exercise; regulation of heart rate; distribution of blood; integrated exercise responses to cardiac output, distribution and oxygen transport; and cardiovascular adjustments to upper body exercise.

In this course, students will learn the kinds and services of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins and their dynamics in exercise. Vitamins, minerals and water needs are examined in relation to exercise performance. Other content areas include pre-competition meal, glucose feedings, electrolytes and water uptake in exercise.

The course provides an analysis of professional and amateur sports organisations from philosophical, historical and operational perspectives. It takes in-depth look at the structure and functional capacities at management and business practices of industry. The course is designed to equip students with organisational knowledge required for high level management of sports.

This course focuses on the application of strategic planning to the management of sports. An understanding of the policies and mechanics of strategic planning will be applied to sports. The use of environmental scans, gap analysis, action planning and benchmarking will be discussed within broad philosophical contexts.

The course is a critical analysis of various aspects of health and exercise psychology. It considers psychological benefits of exercise (e. g., increased well-being) as well as the psychological pitfalls of too much exercise (e. g., exercise addiction, overeating, anorexia nervosa, etc.).

This course examines various theories, models and principles applied in sports and exercise psychology. The course involves the following: various psychological factors and how they influence sports performance, participation in physical activity, and overall health and well-being. Other areas to cover are methods used by athletes and exercisers of various skill levels to achieve peak performance, scientific and theoretical background of sports and exercise participation, application of psychological skills to sports and exercise environments to enhance peak performance and quality of life, and ethical principles of applying these psychological skills.

This course provides opportunity for students to examine the philosophical, historical, sociological and scientific basis of inclusion of Health and Physical Education in the school curriculum. It also reviews various curriculum models in Physical Education and their suitability within a contemporary context. Special attention is paid to the implications of the sports focus approach to curriculum development and the health focus. The prospects and challenges in running a hybrid curriculum are examined.

This course reviews pedagogical trends in Physical Education in the face of advances in technology and contemporary ways of doing things. As the traditional theories of pedagogy are losing grounds, it leaves challenges for practical courses such as Physical Education. This course examines contemporary pedagogical theories and their application in Physical Education. It examines the prospects and challenges of implementing practical Physical Education curricula in the era of Information Technology, distance learning and e-learning.

The course examines qualitative research from design (phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, ethnomethodology, etc.) through practical approaches to data collection, analysis and reporting. It also considers practical computer applications as well as ethical issues in qualitative research.

The students will learn the pulmonary structure and function, surface area and gas exchange, mechanics of ventilation, pulmonary ventilation, and variations from normal breathing patterns other areas are the respiratory tract during cold weather exercise, regulation of ventilation during exercise, ventilation and energy demands, acid-base regulation, buffers and the effects of intense exercise.

The course examines leadership as a process, focusing on the leader, the followers, and the situation. It involves analysis of the sports industry with special emphasis on the sports manager's role and functions as well as in-depth analysis of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling as they apply to the sports manager. Students will have the opportunity to explore several leadership theories and their application in managing sports in contexts at different levels, such as amateur, professional, club, national and international sports. This will include examination of leadership styles as they affect the management process, and of the evolution of professional sports management practice. Key concepts of organizational theory will be applied to various structural components that address the management specifics of how to plan, organize, control, and direct a sports enterprise as well as decision-making and communication skills necessary to be a successful leader.

The course explores marketing theory in a sports context. It covers marketing strategies as they relate to businesses, such as the sporting goods industry, branding, advertising, broadcasting and sponsorship. The course presents a comprehensive examination of basic marketing functions and concepts as applied to sports-related enterprise, including school/college sports programmes, fitness centres, etc. It involves the analysis of sports business problems that involve the creation, distribution, and sale of sporting goods and services. The course content includes the resolution of sport marketing problems, demand analysis, consumer analysis and market analysis.

This course is an intensive examination of the critical components of successful and ethical professional practice and career building in sports performance. It examines the psychosocial determinants of high level performance and factors that affect maintenance of high level performance. Issues discussed will include motivation, professional sports development practices, role of corporate bodies and management of social and psychological pressure.

An intensive field or laboratory experience in training, exercise physiology, exercise leadership, sports management, biomechanics, or sports and exercise psychology. Emphasis is on independent fieldwork in which the student is attached to a sports team or fitness club in order to receive, practical experience in management, coaching or research. This will be done under the direction and supervision of expert practitioners as well as academics.

This course focuses on theories and models, and their application in measurement and evaluation in Physical Education. Issues in learner assessment in Physical Education at different levels of education (KG to SHS) are examined with the view to developing appropriate models for each level. The course also discusses educational programme evaluation models that can be applied in evaluating the Physical Education programme. Examples of models that will be applied are Stufflebeam’s CIPP, Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels and Eisner’s Educational Connoisseurship.

The role of leadership in planning, implementing and evaluating the Physical Education curriculum is the focus of this course. Students will examine general leadership theories and models and apply them to curricular functions such as strategic planning, resource mobilisation and management, quality assurance, curriculum alignment, ethical practice and accountability.